.Bucky is the canine love of my life. Everything he does is cute. Oh sure he gets on my nerves sometimes but who doesn't.
My husband, Mark (Mark's
web page) is the human love
of my life. We are soulmates. He tolerates (maybe even understands)
my Bucky obsession and doesn't mind. After all, he has a girlfriend
named Cinnamon .
Anyway, Bucky became very intolerant of the kittens. He would growl at them if they walked over him in his sleep. Imagine. They were never afraid of him but it started to concern me. What I didn't understand was that even though Bucky was growling he was still being submissive. His ears were back, his belly was often up. It just didn't make sense to me.
Then he started growling at humans. I believed I was doing the right things in disciplining him. I told him no, he would get in his crate and lie down and go to sleep. He was usually sleeping when the growling occurred, always lying down. When he growled and snapped at me, I didn't handle it very well. I had a Cleo flashback and was afraid I'd have to put Bucky to sleep. (See Cleo's story for details.) Cleo's story.
It was Christmas day, I cried myself to sleep. I had already talked to one vet who suggested a behaviorist at the University of Pennsylvania. Before I took that on I thought I'd try an alternative therapy. I called a vet who practiced acupuncture and chinese herbs. When we got there, I told her the whole story.
Now at all other times Bucky is a good dog. He sits and stays and heels. He snuggles and kisses and behaves. He listens to his mother and I know he's a good dog.
I believed something else was wrong. I knew he didn't have a behavior problem or a discipline problem or a bad owner problem. His blood tests showed no problems.
The vet looked at his eyes and asked, "Are they always bloodshot?"
"Yes," I said, "always."
"Well, he has the symptons of liver yang, his qi is blocked. Do you want to try herbs?" she asked us.
I said, "Yes, that's what I want to try."
For about ten days Bucky took herbs called 'relaxed wanderer' and I will tell you that it was the most miraculous experience I have ever witnessed. His bloodshot eyes cleared up and the growling stopped. Even when sleeping and snoring his little heart out and a cat steps on him, he doesn't growl.
He's friendly and even a little more affectionate with strangers. It's the most amazing thing.
To read about our typical day go to: Pet Perks
Read about ice cream Lessons Learned By the Scoop
Read about deep sea fishing in a Nor'Easter A Midsummer's Nightmare
Read about a fictional girl Lacey Santini
If you want to see more pictures of my pets,
just click
